Metaphors - The Structures of the Unconscious Mind

By David John Oates
Copyright © 1996

Our life is surrounded by pictures. We see them in the morning newspaper, we see them in the city streets, and we see them in the houses in which we live. Take a moment to glance around at the room where you are sitting right now. What do you see? Furniture, activity, people? My research with reverse speech tells me that what you are seeing is a reflection of who you are. Look at the clothes you are wearing and look at the clothes of those around you. Are they similar? The chances are that they are. This is because the world in which we live is a reflection of the pictures in our mind and is manifested by the words of our mouth and the deeds of our hand.

On the deep structural level, the thoughts of the unconscious mind are orchestrated by a series of complex interwoven pictures. These pictures have become known as metaphors. A metaphor is a word that describes in pictures the various functions of the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the area of the psyche that is below consciousness. It is alive and active, constantly functioning and processing all aspects of behavior. Each function of the unconscious mind has a specific metaphor that combines with other metaphors to create the movies of life. They can be seen in our fascination for wolves, the primordial call of the wild. They can felt in our awe of the power of the tornado whirling through the desert and they can be heard in the noises of the city as the sounds reflect the activity of the collective mind continually processing.

During my twelve years of research with reverse speech, I have extensively tracked and mapped many of these metaphors. I have connected some of them to specific areas of human behavior and expression, and have found them to be acted out in the everyday dramas of life. So let me begin at the basics and give you some examples.

The metaphors anima and aminus are prime structural metaphors. Carl Jung described them as the raw basic male, female energies. Anima is female and animus is male. My research shows that they form the foundation stones on which all else is built. The way they combine within the individual mind creates the expression of the whole. For example, up until two months ago I was living by myself, endeavoring to raise my twin daughters as a single Dad. People who came into my house commented that the energy was very male. I found this comment strange but as I looked around I saw my figurines of Zeus and Socrates and the Lone Sailor and the Wolf. I realized these were all male figures and they reflected who I was. A researcher, scholar and explorer, living away from my home of Australia, strongly protecting my children.

Then a month ago, my sister came over from Australia to live with me. The house became brighter and neater and the furniture began to change. Female figurines appeared in the house. My disposition calmed and I began to drive my car slower with less aggression. Meanwhile my sister became stronger and more confident. My animus male metaphor had begun to merge with my sister's female anima metaphor and this combination was reflected in my surroundings and the way I lived. The combination could also be seen in my children as they became softer, more feminine and tidier.

Just recently my cousin also arrived from Australia. The tidiness level dropped but the house seemed fully and richer, less stagnant. I worked faster. Another character had arrived on the scene and the movie set of the mind changed. Even my language changed and my speech, which had begun to show the first traces of an American accent, began to resume its original Aussie flavor, mate! .

Human behavior is exactly the same. Imagine the mind like a house. It has many rooms and characters. If the characters are asleep, the house is quiet. If one character is too loud, it will drown out the other characters and the house will not function properly. If the characters in the house decide to pool their resources, the house will expand and grow, affecting all those around.

Therefore the key to understanding human behavior is to understand the pictures that govern our world. The key to changing our world is to first all recognize that the characters of own plot are a reflection of our own pictures. An aggressive person will tend to associate with aggressive people. Like minds attract each other because the pictures are the same.

If you are continually having dysfunctional relationships, then I suspect that your family and friends are also. Many people will scream and complain, why is this happening to me, and they will search everywhere for the reason except for where the real cause resides. It resides within. Relationships are dysfunctional because the pictures are dysfunctional. If the disjunction is in the area of male, female relationships, then one could suspect that there is an imbalance or incongruity with the anima and animus within. As this incongruity is repaired so will the metaphor change and behavior alter in the external world, including the new pictures and movie plot that the metaphor begins to create.

So how do you change the metaphors? First of all, you must recognize what they are. I have a tremendous advantage with reverse speech because it allows me direct access to the core structures of the mind. Here I can see the actual metaphors or pictures that create the symptoms of the behavior.

Without reverse speech, you need to look at who you are. Look at the language you use. Do you say goddamn it as a cuss word and wonder why everything always falls apart. Change the word to godsave it. You'll find it works a lot better. Some of us live in a dark world of despair. If you close your eyes, you'll see the pictures. Change the pictures and turn on the light. You'll find that a connection is made and the movie plot will become enhanced.

Here's some basic pictures to start with. The wolf is a metaphor for the ability to move forward, to hunt and protect. I have a strong wolf reflected by my success as a single Dad and the founder of a technology. Now, obviously I needed more than a wolf to nurture my girls and business, like my feminine metaphor of Eve, the matured spiritual woman.

I have a successful practice where I use hypnosis, visualizations and the lessons of reverse speech to change my clients pictures. I find that as the pictures change so does the behavior. My success rate is impressive. Take for example, the Wolf. Close your eyes and picture a wolf. Is it small or big? It needs to be about waist high and well groomed. Change the picture in your mind and keep it stable. Try and feel what it would be like to become the wolf. You'll find that as you gain success with this image, the behavior will slowly change because as you change the metaphor, you change the movie which changes the scenes you create around you.

Do you find you cannot relax and are constantly on the go? Close your eyes and picture a whirlwind spinning in a desert. Take a deep breath and slow the rotation of the wind down. Make sure its spinning smoothly with no kinks. You'll find that as the pictures alter so will the structures of the unconscious alter and this change will be reflected throughout many different aspects of your life. The whirlwind is the energy system of the body. Its image affects all.

As we begin to understand the many pictures that create our world, and accept our own responsibility in creating them, we can begin to change the pictures and regain control. The human psyche is a product of the pictures of its history. Each event has etched its own mark on the psyche, becoming metaphors which access the many forces that drive us. In many respects we still live the curse of the garden as the snake still tempts us all. The metaphor remains, its just the characters and settings that have altered. Ancient Rome still lives in the markets and battlefields of the world. Hitler still marches on in the repression and torture of individuality.

It is time to change the pictures of the planet, to access the healing metaphors within. Then as we begin to change, so will the world around. Stop blaming others for the inadequacies of your own life because the more you blame and complain, the more you allow the metaphor to have power over you. Change the pictures and change your world.